Page 11

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F ox reread the online form from Amelia’s school in New York and clicked the big red “CONFIRM” button.

And that was that.

Amelia was no longer a student in the New York City school district.

He closed his laptop and stood slowly. It was time to tell Trent. It was ridiculous to be nervous about it, Trent was going to say they were welcome to stay; he knew that. They’d become… good friends. Really good friends.

Really, really, good friends.

He shuffled out toward the barn where he knew he’d find Trent doing something he probably shouldn’t be doing, but he couldn’t say he would be any better at sitting still or taking it easy or any of the things Trent’s doctor had likely told him.

He could hear Trent singing, just loud and off-key as anything. God, that was adorable. Seriously.

He rounded the corner, finding Trent fixing what looked like a little girl’s bicycle.

“Whatcha got there?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he moved closer.

“Bike for Ames. She was crying in her room this morning because she didn’t have one. It’s a surprise.” Trent offered him a smile. “How’s you?”

“She was crying?” How did Trent know that and he didn’t? “I guess I’ve been a little preoccupied today. That’s a—that’s a great bike.”

“Yeah? Good. You can give it to her when she gets home from swimming.”

“No, no. You did it. You give it to her. She’ll love it.” He leaned against a tool bench. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh, darlin’, you can. Every little person deserves to believe their daddy is magical.” Trent winked at him. “Shoot. Tell me all.”

“I just pulled the trigger. I took Amelia out of school in New York. I have the paperwork, and I’m going to take her down and enroll her tomorrow. Here. In school with Silas.” His hands began to shake, and he shoved them deeper into his pockets.

“Yeah? Cool. I know she’ll be excited. You okay?” Trent put down the wrench and headed over to him. “You need a hug, man?”

“A hug?” He took a breath. “I don’t know? I think I need someone to tell me I’m doing the right thing.”

“Okay. You’re doing the right thing.” Trent didn’t seem to be making fun of him. “Schools here are solid. Silas is happy there.”

“We can get out of your hair; we can find our own place…” He didn’t really want to, though. Trent’s house—the farm, the land—felt like home. And Trent…

He didn’t have words for Trent yet.

“It’s up to you, for sure, but y’all are welcome here. She thinks of this as home, and I got room and all. Why don’t you just stay, let school be the big decision for a bit?”

He nodded, exhaling the breath he’d been holding and locked eyes with Trent. “I don’t want to move out.”

“All right. Then welcome home. You’ve got a house key. You tell me what else you need on my end, and I’ll get Rope on the bike path.”

He blinked at Trent a few times, wondering what the bike path was all about, but he didn’t ask. He needed something else right now. “I’ll take that hug.”

Trent’s arms opened, one way wider than the other, folding him in. “You’re all right. I got you. You got space here.”

“Thank you.” He exhaled again, but this time when he took in a new breath, it was the easiest one he’d taken in months. “Thanks, Trent.”

“You got it.” Trent held him—not tight, but close. The man was solid as a rock.

Close was nice, and Fox didn’t rush to let go. “You give a great hug.” That was probably a stupid thing to say. He almost laughed at himself.

“Thanks. It feels good to give one, you know? It don’t happen much.”

“No? Well, we can work on that. I’m a fan.” Maybe a little too much of one. His balls were starting to ache. He let Trent go gently, before it was too late to ignore the interest his cock was taking in Trent’s strength and all that body heat.

“Me too. You want me to do anything, room-wise for Ames? I can.”

That was the reason he didn’t want to leave this house. Trent could make him smile so hard he felt like he might cry. The man made Fox’s chest ache in a very familiar way. That thoughtfulness, and the way Trent just naturally took care of people, including him, and especially Amelia.

He swiped at his eyes and shook his head at himself. “I’d love to paint it; would you mind? She likes yellow. And I want to get her bedroom set from New York. I keep seeing all her things in there—imagining it. It’s weird.” He needed to hire movers, though he didn’t need to bring much else in the way of furniture, Trent was pretty well set. “Maybe we’ll hit the hardware store on the way back from getting her registered for school. You want to come?”

“Absolutely. We should go have an early supper to celebrate. I’m craving Mexican.” Trent squeezed him again, then went back to the bike, lifting it off the workbench. “She just needs a little girl to ride her.”

“It looks great. I’m not taking credit though. Her magical Uncle Trent should give it to her.” Trent was good to them. Amelia should know how good.

“I just wanted her to feel like she belongs. I’m building a bike path for the kids. And I’ll order the trampoline, like I promised Rope.”

What was he talking about?

“Did I—Did I miss something? Path? Trampoline?” Why did he feel like he was playing catch-up?

Trent blinked, and then his eyes went wide and he blushed. “Oh, I—So, Rope asked me if I was going to put in a pool for Ames, if y’all decided to come and stay. I told him, no. They had a pool, but I’m willing to put in a safe bike path for the kids between our houses and a real nice trampoline to bounce on here.”

He stared for a second, then started to laugh. “I didn’t realize so many plans hinged on me making a decision. You and Rope were conspiring, huh?” It felt good actually; it felt like they wanted him to stay.

“When I got my stitches out. We were planning fun things, and a path back and forth that’s fenced and safe? That’s going to get use for a long time.”

“It sounds great. I’ll order the trampoline. I can help with the path too. I need something to do, you know?” He could afford a trampoline and a lot of other things if Trent wanted.

“Sounds great.” That smile lit up the room. “I love the idea of a path going directly from us to Rope—no road, no pastures. Safe for kids.”

“You really like kids, huh?” It was so sweet.

“Cowboys love kids, darlin’. It’s part of the makeup.” Trent grinned at him and shook his head. “I mean, we deal with them all the time at work, right? Those babies are so excited to see us—them—ride.”

“Oh, sure. I didn’t think about that. The job I left didn’t have space for kids. That was one of the reasons I had to resign.” One of several.

“Yeah? Did you like it? I mean, do you miss it?”

“I liked it for a while. I liked the money. I liked being the boss. I liked coming home to my family. But after Xan’s accident—I mean, Amelia and I were shocked. We were grieving. Coming home wasn’t the same for either of us. And then the market shifted, the company was struggling, and I was working constantly. Amelia was with a nanny or friends all the time, and I hardly saw her. I couldn’t fix my family; I couldn’t fix work. I went from the guy who had it all together, the boss people looked up to, to this guy who had no idea how to do anything and was taking all the blame for it. Rightfully, that was my job. And I just?—”

He blinked at Trent. That was more than he’d intended to say, and a lot more than he’d told anyone but his therapist. “I just broke.”

Trent nodded, as if that was completely logical. “I can see that. You had a shift. It’s real hard, and I—shit, I knew I was going to break eventually. You weren’t expecting it.”

“Well. I knew something was going to have to change. I knew I was unhappy, that Amelia was unhappy… I just didn’t expect to lose my shit. And I don’t—I don’t trust myself, you know? Moving, changing yet more things, it worries me. I feel like it’s right. I do. But I don’t trust that I know anything anymore.”

“Well, you don’t have to. You got folks here that have your back, you got time, and you got space. You can figure things on your own time.”

He glanced up, catching Trent’s gaze again. “That’s what my therapist said. I guess she’s worth what I paid her.” He grinned a little. He’d much rather be laughing with Trent than being a downer. “I think that path will be a good job for me. I’d like to actually accomplish something again.”

“Well, rock on. We’ll paint Ames’s room, we’ll build a path, and we’ll make things happen. Did I mention about the mini horses?”

“Uh—no? Are you getting a mini-horse? I was just getting used to the whole yak thing.”

“I’m getting a breeding set—two mares and a stallion. One of the mares is a proven producer.” Trent was all lit up, and it was sexy as hell.

“Amelia will go bananas over miniature horses.”

“I’m going to pick them up over the weekend. Want to come with?”

“Sure. Yes. Sounds like fun. Where are you putting them when they get here?”

“I’m thinking that we’ll make a little place in the stables, and then if they become a going thing? We’ll build them their own enclosure.” Trent rolled the bike out of the workshop.

He followed along, chatting about horses and looking around the property with new eyes. He was going to live here. He’d pitch in, buy some things, build a path, maybe learn to build something even. Contribute. Belong.

He and Amelia would both belong somewhere again.